Being the Main Character: Shuttle Edition

I’d like to dedicate this article to all my fellow Quad inhabitants, along with anyone who has a class in the SEAS building, and all those who generally are opposed to walking anywhere. You might be wondering, what common factor unites these groups? Well, there are two — being the main character and spending time on the shuttle.

Now, I must confess that I am not the shuttle’s biggest fan. I have been known to power walk with a bagel and coffee in hand rather than brave the shuttle and its unknown-to-me destinations. I also have been known to download PassioGo and pretend as if I know how to use it. However, the Quad life has necessitated me reluctantly giving in to the shuttle life, and I must say, it comes with one great bonus: living out all of your greatest main character fantasies.

Allow me to provide a scenario. You’re rushing out of your first floor dorm room in Currier, which requires you to run down a flight of stairs and then back up another flight of stairs (and no, this can’t be avoided, for any non-Currierites who might be thinking that I am clearlyyyyy missing something). You have a slightly warm bagel with cream cheese in one hand and a combination of coffee, a hair clip, and earbuds in the other. (Oh, how the female hands have evolved to accommodate a lack of adequate pockets.)

Anyway, you finally get outside of the building, and the last shuttle is driving away with only 15 minutes left before your morning class starts. “Dang, horrible morning!” You might be thinking. WRONG! Could that not be the start to every great pre-2000’s coming-of-age/rom-com/cheesy/heartfelt classic movie?? Maybe you’ll chase after the shuttle, get cream cheese on your favorite pants, and spill coffee everywhere, making the start of a great story that will help you flirt with your super cute TF. Maybe you’ll turn around and your future husband or wife will be standing right there because they just missed the shuttle too! Probably not, but you get the idea. Romanticize the pain away, baby.

For all my pragmatists out there, let me give you a much more realistic scenario — a.k.a., let me use this platform to describe my typical morning to you. You wake up 45 minutes before your class starts, put on some jeans, pack your bag, grab some coffee, and make it to the shuttle on time. You put your earbuds in when you sit down and debate what to listen to. You’re sick of all your normal music, so you decide that you should look for a new playlist. (Prepare yourself to cringe at the next sentence.) After debating for a moment, you type in “main character energy” into Spotify to see what comes up. I KNOW, I know, it’s super weird, and if you feel superior to me right now, I get it.

But, if you just so happen to feel a similar inclination, I highly recommend it. There are some extremely intelligent people out there making Spotify playlists, and let me tell you, I rediscovered some songs that absolutely hit the spot. There’s simply nothing better than listening to some main character music and staring out the window as you pass Cambridge Commons, knowing that you’re protected inside the shuttle and can’t smell the super extreme odor that has been coming from that general area in recent weeks (hopefully other people have noticed this??).

Anyway, the point is that if you want to walk into your 9 a.m. feeling the full potential of your gaslight-girlboss side, I 10/10 recommend having a main character shuttle moment. It’s probably equally powerful to a hot girl walk and completely eliminates the need for the walk aspect — woohoo! So, go catch that shuttle, go look out that window like you’re in a cheesy Jonas Brothers type music video, and go shamelessly look for that main character music that will help you semi-seize the day.